SEO is quite the buzzword in today’s business world. But what does it actually mean, and how can it benefit your business? Let’s take a look at how you can practically apply search engine optimisation (SEO) to your digital marketing and reach the right audiences.
What is SEO?
Before we dive into the benefits of SEO, let’s recap on what it means. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and it refers to the strategies used to improve your website’s ranking on search engine results pages (SERPs), like Google.
By adding the right words, and ensuring your site is both quick to load and easy to use on phones, SEO makes your website more noticeable and inviting to potential customers.
SEO is a broad subject that covers an array of tasks and techniques. You can split SEO elements into two general categories: on-page and off-page SEO. Here’s what each of these categories generally entails.
On-page SEO
- Keyword research: Identifying relevant keywords to target in your website’s content. What are your target customers typing into Google?
- On-page optimisation: Refining elements like page titles, headers, and meta descriptions. Make sure these contain your keywords.
- Content quality: Producing high-quality, relevant, and engaging content, including blog posts.
- Mobile responsiveness: Ensuring your website is user-friendly on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
- Page speed optimisation: Improving the loading speed of web pages. Slow websites can put visitors off, leading to a higher bounce rate.
- User experience (UX) design: Enhancing the overall usability and navigation of the website. Visitors want a smooth path to the end result, whether that’s purchasing an item or booking a service.
- Image optimisation: Compressing and properly tagging images — this is important for accessibility as well as SEO.
- Regular content updates: Keeping the website content fresh and up-to-date.
- Technical SEO: Addressing technical aspects like site structure, robots.txt, and XML sitemaps.
Off-page SEO
- Backlink acquisition: Gaining links from other reputable websites. These act as a vote of confidence, recommending your business.
- Local SEO: Optimising for local search results, including local directories and Google My Business listings. This is especially important if you offer local goods or services.
- Social media integration: Using social media to promote content and engage with audiences. Social media management is incredibly important within SEO and digital marketing.
What are the business benefits of SEO?
As you can see, SEO entails a lot of moving parts but by creating a cohesive SEO strategy, your business can enjoy the following benefits.
Better visibility
SEO is like a spotlight for your business online. It helps your website climb to the top of search results, making more people aware of your brand. Ideally, you want to be at the number one spot when a potential customer searches for your product or service on Google, Bing, and other search engines.
Attract the right crowd
It’s important to note that SEO doesn’t just make your business more visible to everyone — it helps you reach the people who are looking for exactly what you offer. By using the right words and phrases that your ideal customers use, you can draw in a crowd that’s more likely to make a purchase.
Affordable marketing
SEO is a savvy way to draw in customers without breaking the bank. It targets people who are already interested in what you offer, making it more efficient and cost-effective than many traditional adverts.
Visitor satisfaction
SEO is not just about rankings — you also want to make sure your website is a pleasant place to visit. A site that’s easy to navigate, quick to load, and looks good on mobiles keeps visitors happy and more likely to stick around and buy your products or services.
Stay ahead of the competition
Chances are, your competitors are using SEO. By getting on board, you can keep up or even outshine them. A well-optimised website can rise above the rest in search results, helping you grab a bigger slice of your target market.
SEO expertise in the heart of Glasgow
At Nettl of Glasgow, we make SEO simple and effective for local businesses. We understand that jargon can be confusing, so we aim to explain everything in plain English and tailor our services to suit your unique needs. Whether it’s picking the perfect words to get noticed, sprucing up your website, or making sure you stand out in search results, we’re here to help your business flourish in the digital world.
However, we’re also experts in print marketing, too. From branding and signage to web design and that all-important SEO, we’re your one-stop marketing support.
Get in touch to see how we can help your business stand out and get fantastic results in return.
